Wilderness Survival

I am considering living in the local bushland for several months. However I think sufficient research and skills need to be gained and applied before one can undertake such a task, especially one that has been reliant on todays technology and baby feeding.

I have recently joined the army reserves, and have a reasonable degree of fitness as my starting initiative. I think I will have to acquire skills in the local land and ecology, along with climate and food gathering skills.

I am asking in recommendation to what degree of preparation would be required to I make sure i have all ends covered.

I am considering living in the local bushland for several months. However I think sufficient research and skills need to be gained and applied before one can undertake such a task, especially one that has been reliant on todays technology and baby feeding.

I have recently joined the army reserves, and have a reasonable degree of fitness as my starting initiative. I think I will have to acquire skills in the local land and ecology, along with climate and food gathering skills.

I am asking in recommendation to what degree of preparation would be required to I make sure i have all ends covered.

"I am considering living in the local bushland for several months. "

^^^^ I won't hold you back from your own personal explorations, but your wilderness investment is new and so it's easy to romanticize about being in the middle of nowhere for such an extended period of time- especially considering the implications of being completely isolated from civilization and away from any human contact but self.

My advice is this:

Build up to your planned excursion. Study all available resources about wilderness survival that you can. Then do a one or two day camping trip by yourself to begin with and bring few items with you, perhaps just what you need to stay dry, prepare food & water with and protect yourself. Keep a journal of your experience and jot down everything- what you did, how you did it, how you felt (physically, emotionally and mentally), what tools you brought/how you used them make observations about your surroundings and so forth. Take a break for a few days (while still writing notes in your journal about how you felt after the excursion and how you feel during the break, etc..) and then repeat the minor excursion, this time tacking on a few days, or a week or whatever, bring fewer items this time and see if you can secure water/food by means other than prepared canned goods then take a break again and repeat. Keep close tabs on your notes, and then compare them. This way you’ll be able to see if you are learning anything new or if you’re becoming physically/mentally/emotionally adjusted to living in the wildlands.

Once you have adequately prepared yourself for self reliance, have become familiar with the area you desire to stay in, developed skills to secure food, water, make shelter, make a fire, tools, etc.... you should begin an extended venture into the wildlands (keep your notebook handy- one of the few items from civilization that will be useful then and later).

Keep in mind the season you select for this excursion will determine level of difficulty. In my part of the world fall, winter, spring and the early days of summer are cold and rainy so summer (from late June to early September) is usually preferred not only because of the nice, consistent weather but because of the abundance of vegetation and game animals too.

Another thing to keep in mind is your location. The bases of mountains are rich in fresh water since water seeks the lowest course, and usually springs well at the base of mountains. Rivers are the best locations to be near since you can fish from them, find wild game animals there and use them to help travel by (both as a means of transportation and navigation by foot- if you are ever lost you can follow a river and be sure to find civilization again).

Thankyou Ragnarok for your advice. I think i shall have to come up with an area of wilderness before i make any further plans.

Now to evaluate the point of undertaking such a adventure. I guess it could be considered an attempt at escapism from the reality of modern western society. Then i shall ask myself is this cowardly and unhonorably??? I rather think that perhaps by avoiding the boring reality of post modern culture for a short period of time i can find myself, gather thoughts of what is and what is not essential in ones life. I Hope to bring these values back to everyday life.

I think everyone should go through such experience. One would learn what is really needed in life. Not to life outside society, but to try for a few months. I'm looking forward to do it in a near future. Thanks to Ragnarok also, it is true that such thing such be done progressively, I forgot about that. I will do so since I almost never tried it before.

I will third Ragnarok's suggestion of easing into it with some serious solo backpacking using modern camping gear; especially a camp stove, sleeping bag and lightweight mattress, and food that you buy and carry in. I do this regularly, by myself, and to be quite honest, it fulfills my craving for "wild adventure" at least for the moment.

Beyond that, I'm fairly knowledgable about wilderness survival, at least in the context of emergencies and problems which might come up while backpacking and mountaineering, but any useful advice I could give depends entirely on

1. Where you are going?2. When you are going?3. How much are you willing to suffer?4. Where do you draw the line of "self reliance?"

No matter how much you read up, if you strike off with nothing but a loin cloth, you'll die. Are you going to go skin a cow and shave some sheep in order to make clothes? Are you prepared to get giardia - shit all over your camp and want to die for 10 days? Basically, what are you willing to bring with you at the outset?

1. Where you are going?2. When you are going?3. How much are you willing to suffer?4. Where do you draw the line of "self reliance?

1. I plan to do this in the blue mountains of Australia, so lots of mountains and valleys by Australian Standards.2. I plan to ease into it, so my next long period of time will be around this time next year, hence it will be summer in the southern hemisphere. Climate will be hot at night, to quite cool at night with an evening storm everyday.3. I am willing to suffer, as long as i know there is good prospects of survival.4. I wont totally self-reliant i guess, well not at first. I think i will start of reliant on technology, such as tent, appropriate clothing, sleeping bag, matches, and some food and water.... but progressively i will like to leave items behind until i am nearly totally self-reliant.

I am hoping army reserve training might fulfill this adventurous desire but im not sure if it will bring out the full effect of isolation in which im searching for.